(Insert Clickbait Headline Here)…Alt Title: Help Us Keep YogaDork Going! A Message From YD Founder

Thank you for your support this far. We need your help to keep going.

A message from YD Founder and head yogadork Jennilyn Carson…

I thought about writing out a longwinded post about the past 7 years, a manifesto of sorts filled with flowery language, deeply layered meanings, reflective analyses and sobering predictions. But then I thought, yeah, nah, that’s not me. That’s not this site. Instead, you’ll just get a longwinded post 😉

As founder of YogaDork, I can tell you that it has been quite a fun and weird and sometimes daunting and enlightening ride. Together, we (us and yous guys!) have made it through so many interesting moments in yoga culture, from the Eat, Pray, Love craze (remember when that book/movie was HUGE?) to the rise and fall of John Friend as America’s Next Top Yoga Guru, to the rape allegations against Bikram – America’s current top Guru, to the explosion of yogis on Instagram, the sheer ubiquity of yoga festivals, the sheer problems of lululemon yoga pants (etc.), the growing list of celebriyogis, and the growing overall support of ALL people, no matter what body type or background, in yoga practice. Really, the list goes on and on.

A lot has happened since YogaDork began way back in 2008. There wasn’t even Twitter back then! And a lot has changed in the yoga world, too. There is more yoga, and yoga stuff, in general, everywhere you look, for better or for worse. But I’m so proud to say that YD has weathered it all. I can’t lie, there have been times I’ve felt the mass yoga media would consume us all with top 10 lists and inspirational meme-quotes, but each and every time, you, YD readers and supporters would remind us why YD exists as an alternative, independent voice in the sea of interyogawebs.

Over the years we’ve seen yoga blow up. In that time, you may have noticed YD has not become the biggest yoga site ever. There were opportunities, but we never wanted it to be. It was never the intention to grow beyond our means and become a homogenized or watered down version of ourselves. Hopefully, we have succeeded in keeping our promise to provide commentary on yoga news and culture with wit and wisdom. That was and is our first and foremost goal. Of course, with a bit of humor thrown in for good measure, because even yoga is funny! And if we can’t laugh or make fun of ourselves, then we’re in a lot more trouble than I thought.

We may not have all of the answers, and that’s more than OK, because it’s in asking the questions that we truly learn more about ourselves and the world. In our eyes, inquiry rules. With that said, we plan on continuing to keep a critical and inquisitive eye on the world of yoga, because we feel that’s a vital and important part of keeping the balance and, as the prophet Jon Stewart spoke (and I’m paraphrasing), sniffing out the bullshit.

We are so lucky to have remained an independent website…

…operating solely from my own (albeit minimal) budget and the financial support of our sponsors. But none of that would mean anything if you weren’t here. By reading our site, sharing our posts, liking them on facebook, retweeting them on Twitter, purchasing our tees, clicking on our sponsors’ ads, subscribing to our newsletter…you are supporting YD and what we stand for.

We are – I am – extremely grateful, because without you, we’re just some lonely yogadorks in a cave making cheesy puns all by ourselves.

Things are shifting. The proverbial water is rising and we need your continued support to stay afloat. There have been some good developments – we’re getting ready to launch our sister site cycledork! – but we would also like to make some improvements to YD, too.

We want to make this site even better – with an updated website (say yes to responsive layout!), an updated logo (it’s only been 7 years!), one or two new regular team members (because, little known fact, it’s pretty much been just me!) and better, further in-depth coverage of what’s going on out in the yoga world. We all deserve smart, honest, thought-provoking and, yes, entertaining writing that isn’t tied up in some ulterior motive or brand marketing scheme, and we intend to be your home base for that.

In the next couple of weeks, we will be rolling out a few fun ways you can support our survival should you so wish – and for which we would be so grateful. Honestly, our future depends on it.

This is our first…we’re bringing it back…the official #yogadork T-shirt! It’s a classic. The first time we introduced this shirt was way back in 2009. Whoa. This is the ONLY place you can get this shirt.

We hope you like it as much as we do and that you’ll wear it with yogadork pride!

Get yours here!

*The Teespring campaign will be up for the next 3 weeks – ending October 30th. We will have one or two other fun designs up soon, so please stay tuned!

Or if you prefer, any donation is greatly appreciated and will help us keep this train moving.

 

Other ways you can help:

• Share our links and posts
• Like YD on facebook/twitter/instagram
• Click on our sponsor’s ads
• Buy books from our Amazon list – see our sidebar ->
• Sign up for our weekly newsletter
• Become a sponsor
• Read our site!

Thank you for being a part of this wild ride, whether you’ve had a seat from the beginning or you’re just hopping on now. Let’s keep this thing going.

<3 JL
@jenniyoga

UPDATE: We have new fun tees up! Limited Edition – Available until Nov. 8

Every single purchase goes towards supporting our mission to be an alternative voice in online yoga.

Get yours here!

Thank you!